News and commentary on the autism epidemic and my beautiful boy who is living with autism.

December 21, 2011

Does Geri Dawson Know What Glutathone Is?

Interesting story...

I was speaking with an autism researcher who told me about an exchange he had with Geri Dawson, the chief science officer for Autism Speaks. He attended an AS reception at a university and approached Dr. Dawson to ask her what she thought about the research surrounding glutathione and autism. Dr. Dawson replied that she was not familiar with gluthathione/autism research.

There are 12 studies on GSH and Autism (all of which I have listed below) and all of them have found low glutathione problems are tied to autism.

My son was diagnosed with autism in the spring of 2004, and I became familiar with glutathione/autism research before the summer was out. I believe it is absolutely unacceptable for the "science officer" of Autism Speaks, whom GQ declared one of the "Rock Stars of Science," to not be intimately familiar with what may be one of the most key aspects of why our children as so susceptible to environmental injury, low glutathione levels that leave our children unable to detox.

And as Autism Speaks has highlighted in their own "AUTISM SPEAKS TOP 10 AUTISM RESEARCH ACHIEVEMENTS OF 2011" Autism is a condition brought on by environmental exposures. And being that one of the GSH/autism studies was actually funded by Autism Speaks, again... no reason that Dawson should not be all over this.

The possibility that Dr. Dawson could not even offer a basic response on a question about glutathione, to put in mildly, troubles me. The fact that she believes that she is qualified to be directing autism research, knowing so little about this environmental illness, makes me angry. The fact that Geri Dawson has applied to be on the IACC makes me crazy. Because with her title, and her "Rock Star" PR, she might just be added to it by Thomas Insel.

Just to be sure that I had my fact straight about Dr. Dawson's response to the GSH question. I wrote to her to confirm:

Subject:

Glutathione

Date:

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 10:59:06 -0500

From:

Ginger Taylor

To:

Geri Dawson

Dr. Dawson,

I am writing a piece on you and would like your response before I
publish.

I spoke with a researcher who reports approaching you at an AS
reception earlier this year and asking you about glutathione
research. He told me that you said were not familiar with
research on glutathione.

As the glutathione connection in autism is a foundational one to
understanding why these particular children are vulnerable to
environmentally caused autism (including vaccine induced autism,
which you continue to deny despite the evidence HRSA's own
admission that vaccine induced encephalopathy can cause autism,
and that they list the symptoms of autism on the VICP injury
table), and as it is among the first interventions that families
implementing biomedical intervention for autism learn about, you
can see how alarming that AS's chief science officer seems to have
no knowledge of its role in autism causation or treatment.

I will be writing about this exchange, but wanted to give you a
chance to comment before I publish.

When you were approached about glutathione, did you have any
understanding of its role in autism? What is your understanding
now? Since every study done on GSH and autism has found a link,
and since AS has actually funded research on GSH, it is
appropriate for AS to have a science officer who is not conversant
on it?

So what does Dr. Dawson actually know about this environmental illness? A comment she made on her "Rock Stars of Science" interview might give us a hint.

"Best moment in medicine/research: Recently, my colleagues and I published the first randomized clinical trial showing very positive benefits of early intervention for toddlers with autism. The moment I saw the results of that study was one of the best moments of my research career."

Dr. Dawson's best moment in research was when she confirmed what we have known for probably twenty years, but the fact that children might be prevented from needing that early intervention in the first place simply by testing infant glutathione levels... completely lost on her?

Listing the GSH research for Dr. Dawson in the hopes that she will review it and realize that she might have a chance to prevent the boat from developing a hole it in, rather than having to spend a lifetime bailing it out.

5 comments:

This is so disturbing on many levels. Is it possible that she wants to avoid the issue of toxic assault as a common denominator, thus denying the existence of low glutathione as a measurable barometer of environmental/vaccine injury vs the genetic nonsense AS seems to promote? Or is it possible that she is getting paid BIG bucks and has NO idea what the research shows, nor does she care? Either scenario does not paint a pretty picture of this "science officer."

This is not news to parents of older kids like mine. Sadly, this kind of ignorance not only delays treatment, it can be fatal. I confirmed that my son had a disorder of cholesterol metabolism in October. Sadly just 3 days later, at age 25, he passed away from cancer, which was misdiagnosed as crohn's disease. He must have seen twenty autism docs/gi docs over the years, not one of whom thought his extremely low cholesterol was worth mentioning.He had low glutatione dxed before he was in kindergarten. I guess his poor body could not wait for people like Dr. Dawson to get up to speed.

Please re read the above post. I mention that one of the studies was sponsored by AS.

And it is heavy handed because this is not even remotely the first offense by Geri Dawson. She does not belong in this position. Please see my other posts on Dr. Dawson and Autism Speaks, and the harm they are doing to our children.